Repost: Does anyone want to waste some time by searching a car with me?

"Mark - Sixpots None The Richer" (marklinde)
07/25/2014 at 21:08 • Filed to: None

I started my first full time job a couple of weeks ago. So how should I burn my money? By buying my first car of course! But what would you choose in my situation? (EDIT: Thanks for the suggestions so far!)

The major limitation is - as always - money:

I have to work with a tight budget (see below). Apart from buying it I have to maintain, insure and fill up the damn thing. So you and I sadly have to forget about fantasy garage stuff. This doesn't mean we can't get jalopy though.

I'm currently in the early stages of working out how much I want to/need to pay for my car, calculating a monthly budget and so on. I want to actually purchase the car in about three months or so when bad weather makes my bicycle ride to work gradually worse.

So you already read the good news:

I'm luckily not depending on a car on a daily basis. I live in walking distance to everything I need, and a 20 minutes bicycle ride gets me to work. Unless the weather is exceptionally awful I really don't want to commute by car. In my current situation it's a very feasible estimate that I will drive about 6.000 miles - possibly way less - a year. Most of those miles will be driven just for fun and I can easily do without the car most of the time.

This gives me some options to think outside the usual "reasonable choices" more suited for my actual (speak: low) income. It also enables me to ignore some issues that only affect owners who need their cars a lot. Within a reasonable margin I'm not interested in differing fuel consumptions between car x and y. And since I won't be driving too much specific maintainance issues and costs are - also within reason - neglectable when comparing my options too. Yet there are certainly cars with known problems out there which should better be avoided. That's for sure!

My situation also gives you another limitation.

While the car is more of a luxury and hobby item for me, it's definetely not solely a sunny sunday fun mobile. It needs to be reliable in bad weather/winter conditions since that's when I need/want it the most. To make matters worse I work and "commute" at night. A "classic" car and/or something with a carburator is therefore sadly a poor choice I think. Or is it?

What, "Miata" you say?

Actually a Miata is a logical decision and well in my price range. And there are quite a few other coupes and sedans out there with a lot of jalopy appeal I can choose from.

Except I have yet another thing to consider for you.

I'd like to travel with my own car through Scandinavia in the near future. I did it with my family decades ago and I'm thinking about driving up there with my sister hopefully next year. Since Scandinavian countries are horribly expensive I need a car with enough room to pack food and other supplies aside from the usual luggage for the trip. It might also be a reassuring makeshift to be able to sleep in the car if the weather is too dire to set up a tent.

Since I don't want a van or SUV a big wagon is therefore very high on my list at the moment. Apart from the space they offer I really like the looks of wagons as well.

By keeping the jalopy delights of rearwheel drive and a manual transmission in mind, three options stand out to me:

The Opel Omega Caravan. I like the fact that this Opel doesn't have any image at all and that it's therefore an outsider. It's actually good looking in its simplicity too. Imagine nice rims on it and it's even quite attractive I think.

The E34 Touring. My favourite at the moment. I don't have to explain this choice to you guys, right?

The w124. You can't do anything wrong with this old battleship. In contrast to the other two I think it even gets more desireable with dents and bruises. See?

This is great because it means I don't have to worry about it. As long as noone steals the star above the grill that is!

I don't know whether I can justify to own a six cylinder version of those wagons. I really don't need two extra pots, and I'm certainly not willing to constantly throw money at the car although I love it. Just because I realistically can own a bigger engine doesn't mean that I should. Maybe I already answered the question of six cylinders by asking it. Because you have to ask, you can't or don't want to own them, right?

But on the other hand my life is very cheap at the moment, so you know, why not treat oneself to a bit of wastefulness once?

There are a lot of good examples with reasonable mileage of those three to be found in my price range. I'd be happy with either one of them so in the end availibility in my area might be the deciding factor.

I know that I could find a Volvo 700 or 900 Series if I were to try or that a Subaru Forester might be an interesing option as well. So, who knows...

But what would you buy if you were me? Except for the budget feel free to ignore my restraints - especially the travelling bit if you like since this is only a vague plan at the moment anyway.

Use for example !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! to search for cars in Germany.

Although you might not be able to read all the ads the page is pretty much self-explanatory.

I always search with a budget of 3.000€ in mind.

Make sure to check the Kilometerstand . Of course it's preferable if you'd find something with less than 200.000 or even 150.000 km on the odometer.

Make also sure to check the box " Schaltgetriebe " for manual. You find it under " Getriebe ". I really don't want an automatic.

Right below is a box you also have to check. " Fahrtauglich " means driveable. I have to be able to drive the car home from where I bought it and want to test drive it of course.

Ignore all the other options. I don't care for leather interiors and so on. As long as the vehicle is technically in good shape and fairly priced I could do without creature comforts, extras and toys. In this price range resell value isn't important either. It's the same with colors. I couldn't care less. If the color is ugly the car is cheaper. I'm fine with it!

It'd be nice if you don't get too excessive with " Leistung " (power in kw and hp) and " Hubraum " (displacement). Insurance, maintainance and fuel costs are amounting to huge sums once you get beyond 200hp and over 3.000 ccm. Try to keep it around 150hp and maybe 2.500 ccm.

Otherwise feel free to suggest anything you like or give me your opinions about my three favourites.

Has anyone ever put a mattress in one of them by chance?

DISCUSSION (19)

505Turbeaux > Mark - Sixpots None The Richer
07/24/2014 at 12:10

get a W124 turbo diesel, and you will be set for life. Reasonable on fuel, looks great with the bruises, just steady as a rock. And there are some very attractive colors out there. I will look through mobile in a bit

KnowsAboutCars > Mark - Sixpots None The Richer
07/24/2014 at 12:25

If I was in your position I might be looking at some short wheelbase suv although if you need lots of luggage space they are not ideal. Something like 4 cylinder swb Mitsubishi Pajero or swb Suzuki Vitara for example.

Mattbob > Mark - Sixpots None The Richer
07/24/2014 at 12:29

I stopped reading when I saw the e34. Go with that. Or if you can find an e36 wagon.

Mark - Sixpots None The Richer > 505Turbeaux
07/24/2014 at 12:37

My thoughts exactly. I forgot to mention that I don't care whether it's slow or not.

So: I don't mind slow at all.

And see the color? Red is ugly, but I'd take it without hesitation as long as there is no rust under it I have to worry about.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > Mark - Sixpots None The Richer
07/24/2014 at 12:37

I had similar requirement (commute by bike and live in the city but wanted a toy and a bit of freedom) and ended up with a 1.3 diesel fiat panda, but I have pretty strange taste in cars sometimes...

505Turbeaux > Mark - Sixpots None The Richer
07/24/2014 at 12:38

what do you think about green?

4age20vsilvertop > Mark - Sixpots None The Richer
07/24/2014 at 12:41

1998 Ford Scorpio 2.3 Ghia Turnier, 112.543km, 1850EUR Vb, regularly maintained, few dents and shit

Might as well consider the Frog.

Mark - Sixpots None The Richer > Mattbob
07/24/2014 at 12:42

The E34 looks awesome! It might even be a bit fun to drive...

I might regret not chosing it even if there are better suited options out there.

Damn, it's difficult...

Mark - Sixpots None The Richer > KnowsAboutCars
07/24/2014 at 12:44

You might be onto something here.

I dismissed small SUVs just because I don't want one, not because they are a bad option. Maybe I shouldn't overlook them.

I'll give it some thoughts now, thank you.

Klaus Schmoll > Mark - Sixpots None The Richer
07/24/2014 at 12:47

One word: "Umweltzone". No dice with any old Diesel.

Klaus Schmoll > 505Turbeaux
07/24/2014 at 12:49

Mark forgot to mention that almost all older (older than the late 90s) Diesels are banned from pretty much every inner city in Germany. Which makes them a no go in my book.

Mark - Sixpots None The Richer > 4age20vsilvertop
07/24/2014 at 13:00

You are my kind of Jalop!

I considered a Scorpio sedan but I didn't know that there is a Turnier version around because I never saw one before. So I didn't search in that direction at all.

Big, possibly couchy to drive and a bit ugly. So definetely unloved by the public and very cheap.

I love it, thank you!

Mark - Sixpots None The Richer > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell.
07/24/2014 at 13:02

Everything that makes you happy is a good choice!

Mark - Sixpots None The Richer > Klaus Schmoll
07/24/2014 at 13:03

That's sadly something to consider and I did forget about it.

Thanks!

Mark - Sixpots None The Richer > 505Turbeaux
07/24/2014 at 13:04

I'm fine with green.

BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather > Mark - Sixpots None The Richer
07/25/2014 at 21:25

Kinja'd!!!

Do you live in a land where these roam free?

shpuker > Mark - Sixpots None The Richer
07/25/2014 at 21:27

http://suchen.mobile.de/auto-inserat/s…

When in doubt, find a Subie. Under 200k, appears to be in good shape, AWD. Unless I missed something important it looks good.

Mark - Sixpots None The Richer > BugEyedBimmer - back in the Saddle Dakota Leather
07/25/2014 at 21:37

Germanyland. And those are rare over here I think.

So a quick search within my budget didn't come up with a hit.

Mark - Sixpots None The Richer > shpuker
07/25/2014 at 21:46

The ad states it has a bit of rust and it needs work on the exhaust. Nothing too severe though the seller says...

I looked at those too. They seem so "small". With 5' 11" I'm not a huge guy by any means, and I don't expect too much comfort while sharing the space with another person. It's more of an emergency solution anyway. But isn't the Subie a bit too short and narrow?